In a world dominated by on-screen software keyboards, Sprint is bucking the trend with the new Photon Q: A powerful Android 4.0 smartphone paired with a five-row hardware keyboard. The carrier hasn’t yet announced availability or pricing details but plans to do so in the coming weeks.

Most of the handsets with physical keyboards I’ve looked at in the past few years — and there haven’t been many — have generally been low- to mid-range devices.

The new Photon Q 4G LTE, a follow up to last year’s Photon Q, appears to rival many handsets available today (save a few premium models) with these specifications; that is, at least on paper:

Much like the recently announced Motorola Atrix HD, the Photon Q LTE 4G includes Motorola’s Smartactions; software that automates certain activities and phone settings. The device also supports display mirroring though HDMI so that digital media can be shared on the big screen. Aside from the slightly low resolution — a 4.3-inch display would look better at 1280 x 720 resolution in my opinion — there’s not much to dislike here and it could help Sprint transition even more Nextel customers over to Sprint’s new LTE network.